THE TIMES Monday March 19 2001
By Gillian Harris (Scotland Correspondent)
A GIFTED schoolboy mad a mistake during one of his experiments and ended up
with a discovery that could help to reduce scarring caused by burns.
David Stockdale, 18, was working on a science project when he stumbled on the
protein decorin, which appears to make scars heal and fade more quickly.
The breakthrough came as David was comparing normal and abnormal skin samples
to see why some scars never heal properly. During one of his experiments he
accidentally used 200 times the correct amount of acid and discovered the effects
of high levels of decorin. The protein, which can be found in the skin's epidermis
and in the joints, acts on scar tissue and reduces it.
His research, which is undergoing clinical trials at a medical centre in Switzerland,
has won him the Young Scientist of the Year award from the British association
for the Advancement of Science. He will also represent Britain at the International
Youth Science Seminar in Sweden this year.
David, a pupil at Banchory Academy in Aberdeenshire, worked on his project at
the Aberdeen University. It was funded by a Nuffield bursary for schoolchildren
interested in science. "The project began last summer when I discovered
the work of a man called Professor Mackenzie who spent his whole life studying
skin," Davis said. "He was doing work on keloid scars, which are prevalent
in people of Afro-Caribbean backgrounds or Asian background. They produce and
extra layer of scar tissue, which can make them look unsightly. I began looking
at other scars, which never heal properly and looked into why that was."
However, he could never have dreamed where his research would take him. "This
could lead to a real cure for people who have burn injuries or any other kinds
of traumatic scarring," he said.
David, whose other interests include hill walking and reading, said yesterday
that he had always been fascinated by science. While other boys playing outside
school, David stayed in his bedroom poring over biology textbooks.
"I was rescued from a life of boredom by one of my science teachers who
got me hooked on the subject," he said. "I just find it so interesting.
There is always something more to learn. In science you can be absolutely certain
about something. It is the ultimate clinical truth."
Davis, whose mother is a doctor, now wants to study medicine at St Andrews University
when he leaves school in the summer. Afterwards he intends to pursue a career
in medical research.
"I'm really hung up on the idea now," he said. "I want to go
into a new branch of medicine called proteomics, which looks a gene therapy
for genetic disorders. It's very rare for a new branch of medicine to emerge
in your lifetime, so it's very exciting."
Yesterday, David's biology teacher, Phil Austin, said:" Going to Stockholm
is a marvellous achievement for anyone, but for someone who is still at school
it is quite significant. The breadth of his scientific reading is astonishing.
The school is very proud of him."
Denys Wheatley, the head of cellular pathology at Aberdeen University, said:
"He has exuberance of energy and obviously enjoys an intellectual challenge."